NAIA Football Players of the Week - No. 4

Carter, Lear and Loydd receive NAIA football weekly honors.

September 24, 2012

By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Marcus Carter of Friends (Kan.) has been named the NAIA National Football Defensive Player of the Week, Derek Lear of Montana State-Northern has been tabbed National Football Offensive Player of the Week and James Loydd of Waldorf (Iowa) received National Football Special Teams Player of the Week honors, the national office announced Monday. Carter, Lear and Loydd were chosen for their performances during the week of Sept. 17 - 23 and were selected out of a pool of conference and independent award winners.

Carter, a senior linebacker from Las Vegas, Nev., tallied a career-high 19 tackles (nine solo), including 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack in the Falcon's 18-17 victory against McPherson (Kan.) last weekend. Additionally, Carter gave Friends a 12-7 lead early in the third quarter when he tied the NAIA single-game record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.

On the season, Carter leads the team with 41 tackles, including 20 solo stops, and paces the NAIA with 10 tackles for loss. He is the second Falcon this season to receive Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Lear, a junior quarterback from Fairfield, Mont., rewrote the Montana State-Northern record book in the Lights' 46-39 victory against Montana Western on Sept. 22. Lear finished the contest 32-of-45 passing for a program single-game record 532 yards passing and a single-game record seven touchdowns. Additionally, he rushed for 74 yards on 11 attempts, giving him an NAIA single-game best 606 yards of total offense - also a school record.

On the season, Lear is completing 65.4 percent (83-of-127) of his passes for 1,088 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He currently ranks 19th in the NAIA in total offense per game (232.7) and 29th in passing yards per game (185.3).

Loydd, a junior wide receiver from Lake Wales, Fla., returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in Waldorf's 76-35 thrashing of Trinity Bible on Sept. 22. He sparked a string of 28 unanswered points on the opening kickoff with a career-long 96-yard return for a touchdown. Lightning struck twice with four minutes remaining in the second quarter when Loydd galloped 74 yards for his second score of the afternoon. He finished the day with 170 total return yards.

Loydd leads the NAIA with a 49.6 kickoff return average, while ranking third in total kickoff return yards (347) and fifth in all purpose yards (622).

For a complete listing of all the national statistical leaders, click here.

For the complete NAIA Player of the Week calendar, click here. The next NAIA National Football Players of the Week will be announced on Oct. 1.